Back-to-School Resources for Parents

Back-to-School Advice and Checklists

• 19 Meaningful Questions You Should Ask Your Child’s Teacher: Mine this list for inspiration before talking with your children’s teachers. (Edutopia, updated 2016)
• 9 Back to School Tips for Parents: Explore these simple tips for helping your kids return to the classroom ready to learn. After the back-to-school rush, use this month-by-month guide to enhance your kids’ school experience throughout the year. (Department of Education, 2016)
• 5-Minute Film Festival: Building a Parent Toolkit: Watch curated videos on topics like stress reduction, healthy eating, homework, and more. (Edutopia, 2015)
• 15 Questions to Replace ‘How Was School Today?’: Questions to ask to gain deeper insights into your kids’ learning experiences. (Edutopia, 2016)
• Back-to-School Health and Safety Tips: Browse advice about issues like backpack safety, transportation, bullying prevention, nutrition, before- and after-school child care, study habits, and more. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016)
• Best Back-to-School Tips: Listen to this podcast about preparing students to head back to school and developing morning routines. For more on this topic, check out “Getting Back in the School Year Routine.” (Greater Good Science Center, 2012)
• Back to School: Find information about back-to-school shopping on a budget, getting organized, and supporting children academically in this collection of articles. You may also want to take a look at “Back-to-School Night Basics.” (GreatSchools)

Easing the Transition

• How to Ease Your Child’s Kindergarten Jitters: Use these tips from Dr. Michele Borba as you prepare your child for kindergarten. Learn how to ease your kindergartner’s anxiety, establish a goodbye ritual, and ensure that the first days of school are positive. For similar resources for students of all ages, see “Transition Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Administrators.” (Edutopia, 2016)
• Guiding Our Children Through School Transitions: Transitions can be both exciting and anxiety-inducing for children and parents. Discover tips for helping students transition into elementary school, middle school, high school, and post-secondary education. (Parent Toolkit, 2014)
• Start School Strong: A Back-to-School Guide for Kids With Learning and Attention Issues: Find a variety of resources—including live chats with experts, downloads, and more—to help children get organized, process their feelings, and establish routines. (Understood, 2016)
• Helping Students With Autism Transition Into a New School Year: Gain insights into how you can work with teachers to help kids with autism transition to a new teacher, a new school, or a new curriculum. (Edutopia, 2017)
• How to Cope With Back-to-School Anxiety: Learn how to detect if your child is experiencing back-to-school anxiety and get actionable tips to help ease their worries. (PBS Parents, 2016)
• Back to School Books: Read a book with your child as a springboard to discuss feelings about returning to school; this guide includes recommendations for preschool through grade six. For more book suggestions, check out Understood.org’s “5 Great Back-to-School Books for Kids in Grades 1–4.” (Bank Street School of Education)

Tech Tips for a New School Year

• Back-to-School Guide: Explore advice and guidance related to managing technology in school and at home. This comprehensive guide features resources like “6 Research-Backed Sites and Apps That Can Boost Your Kid’s Report Card.” (Common Sense Media, 2016)
• Four Tools to Improve Communication Between Home and School: Read about online and mobile tools that can help parents engage with schools in this post by #PTChat co-moderator and #ParentCamp founding organizer Gwen Pescatore. (Teaching Channel, 2015)
• How Much Screen Time? That’s the Wrong Question: Learn why the quality of screen time—not the quantity—matters, and gain tips and strategies for helping your kids use technology more effectively. (Edutopia, 2017)
• Creating a Family Media Agreement: How to Have the Conversation: Learn how creating an agreement can help your family balance media use and time on schoolwork during the first weeks of school. (Edutopia, 2013)

For more tips and guidance about managing media and technology use, check out these articles:

• 5 App and Mobile Use Guides for Parents (Edutopia, 2015)
• Technology at Home: Developing the Social Self (Edutopia, 2013)
• Young Kids and Technology at Home (Edutopia, 2013)
• Media and Digital Literacy: Resources for Parents (Edutopia and Common Sense Media, 2012)

Gearing Up for Fall Learning

• Conquering the Multitasking Brain Drain: The constant stream of digital media has fractured many kids’ sense of focus. Learn how you can help your kids avoid multitasking and regain a sense of focus before the start of school. (Edutopia, 2016)
• Teaching Good Study Habits: Minute by Minute: Explore advice, timed exercises, and games to help adolescents study effectively. (Edutopia, 2016)
• Hack to School: Getting Your Kids Back Into a Routine: Starting a routine-building regime late in the summer can help your kids start school fresh and ready. Here are some easy-to-implement tips for building a back-to-school routine. (Parental Toolkit, 2016)
• Homework and Developing Responsibility: Building good study habits early is crucial for long-term academic success. Find tips and ideas on encouraging effective habits in reading, writing, and math. (American Academy of Pediatrics, updated 2015)
• Five-Minute Film Festival: Nine Boosts for Summer Learning: Watch videos with fun ideas to re-engage kids in the learning process during the last days of summer. (Edutopia, 2013)
• Milestones: A collection of videos aimed at helping parents understand grade-level expectations for children in grades K–12. (GreatSchools)

For more parent strategies around homework, take a look at these articles:

• Homework vs. No Homework Is the Wrong Question (Edutopia, 2015)
• Homework, Sleep, and the Student Brain (Edutopia, 2014)

The Power of Parental Involvement

• Parent Partnership in Education: Resource Roundup: Discover tips, tools, and strategies to help parents engage in a productive way with teachers and schools. (Edutopia, updated 2015)
• How to Get Involved in Your Child’s School Activities: There are dozens of ways you can get involved in the classroom and help teachers out. Also see “Tips for Parents: Parent-Teacher Conferences.” (Colorín Colorado)
• Parental Involvement in Schools: Browse a report that discusses the positive effects of parental involvement in schools. For more on the research about what types of parental involvement work best, you may also want to read “Back to School: How Parent Involvement Affects Student Achievement” from the Center for Public Education. (Child Trends, 2013)
• 5 Resources for Parent-Teacher Conferences: Prepare for your children’s conferences like a pro with these helpful guides and how-to articles. (Edutopia, 2015)
• Parent Involvement Checklist: Bookmark a checklist that can help educators and parents evaluate how well their school is reaching out to parents, and explore how to work together to improve the quality of parent-school partnerships. (Reading Rockets/Project Appleseed, 2008)